Venezuelan Opposition Accused of Ties to CIA

Caracas, Aug 19 (Prensa Latina) Members of the Venezuelan political oppositions are tied to the intelligence agencies of the United States, a country that represents a threat for the whole region, Socialist congress member Hector Navarro said Friday.

Navarro, who chairs the National Assembly’s Comptroller’s Commission, said the proof of those ties lies in the similar timing and content of statements made by opposition assemblymembers and former U.S. undersecretary of State Roger Noriega, who is tied to the CIA, regarding decisions on Venezuela’s finances.

In an interview with Venezuelan television, Navarro said the coincidencein those statements proved those ties, given that opposition assemblymembers had no other explanation.

Before Hugo Chavez announced Wednesday that the country would bring home its gold deposits from other countries and diversify the countries where it keeps reserve funds, the opposition attacked the policies in a press conference based on a supposedly leaked document.

The issue was the subject of debate in the National Assembly on Thursday, where the Socialist members warned of a plan organized by right-wing U.S. forces with the complicity of anti-government Venezuelans.

The crisis in the United States and particularly the diminishment of its oil reserves make Venezuela an attractive target because of its vast oil reserves, Navarro noted.